He awoke in darkness.
Or perhaps an absence of… anything. It was difficult to define. Everything felt… wrong. Loose. His body, his self, his very identity seemed… hazy. Nothing was clear. Nothing was… The car! His awareness spiked with alarm, and he remembered.
An accident. Thunder. Lightning. Pain. So much pain.
Then there was… a voice? A gong? A moment of blurry obfuscation marred his awareness again when he tried to recall what had happened, to organise the recollections that wouldn’t quite form into being. He had been… travelling. Driving. To a… function? Celebration… a party! A birthday party for his… sister. His sister, Cassandra. Cassandra!
“Cassandra!” he shouted, before staggering at the sudden return of sensation.
He stood upon an expansive, white platform of infinity. Everywhere he looked was nothing. There was only more white, onwards and forever unto eternity. His head started to spin; his breaths became short. Panic gripped his chest—
He blinked and looked around.
He stood within a small grove. A forest clearing of a sort he had never seen. Flowers of blues and pinks and purples and reds and every other possible hue and shade saturated the area, filling it with a riot of colours that assailed his senses with scent and beauty. He let the strangeness of it all wash over him and stepped towards the single large tree at the centre of the glade. His fingers found purchase upon the bark, ancient and granular to his touch, and coloured a shade of white that stood starkly against the norm for what he understood as regular vegetation.
His fingers traced the platinum whorls in the bark, almost akin to a seamless and infinitely looping, complex alphabet that was linked together by convoluted connections he couldn’t begin to understand. They almost looked metallic, and yet felt like hardened sap. His mind couldn’t even attempt to properly comprehend it all, too lost in the strange sense of comfort he derived from the mysterious tree. He felt like he should have been panicking. He should have been far more… emotional, and yet… yet… the…
He abruptly staggered backwards with a cry of pain and reached up to claw at his head.
“This isn’t real!” he shouted in desperation, and instantly the grove shattered.
A distant chime sounded, and when he next opened his eyes, he stood once more within the infinite white.
This time, however, a small blue screen hovered in front of him.
He stared.
Welcome, Nephilim!
System Assimilation has initialised.
Soulforce ignition has been successful.
Your signature classification is: [Transcendent]!
Would you like to proceed to the actualisation stage?
YES
NO
He blinked at the screen for a moment in mounting disbelief, confusion, and then abruptly erupted into a panic-and-hysteria fuelled giggle. “What the fuck?” he demanded of the nothingness, voice echoing strangely to his own ears.
“This is… what the hell? Am I in a video game?” he tried to turn away from the screen, but to his chagrin it followed him; still perfectly positioned in front of him at the ideal height for his fingers to interact with it.
“I am not a fucking isekai protagonist,” he growled at the screen before turning away again and—perhaps not unexpectedly—watching the damnable projection follow his movement unerringly.
“You have got to be kidding me…” he mumbled to himself, panic once more rising within him as he looked from the screen to the infinite tableau of whiteness. “I… oh God… I’m dead, I…”
The memories returned. Faster. More vivid.
His sister’s voice.
The flashes of lightning.
The rolling and smashing car.
The thunder and the spear of light.
Pain. The thunderous gong. Darkness.
His breathing began to hitch, and he started to hyperventilate; folding over his own gut as fear, nausea, panic, rage, and denial hit him like a multi-layered cargo train. His legs failed under him, and he dropped to the white surface beneath him, feeling tears trailing down his cheeks uncontrollably. He felt like his bladder would have released had he anything to unleash.
His mother. His sister. His father. His family. Gone. Lost to him.
The edges of his vision started to blacken and constrict, and he found it harder and harder to breathe as the reality of what was happening settled on him like a breath-stealing blanket, choking his ability to regulate his breaths. There was no going back. There was no stopping what had happened. Denial was a poor balm against the irrefutable reality that he was not dreaming, and this was all too real.
“Oh… oh god… oh god no…” he whispered, feeling himself collapsing ever deeper into his own mind as the mental faculties he had cultured his entire life fell apart like wet paper before a king’s tide.
Terror mixed with horror and he half-gasped for air, half-wept. The memory of his death. His death. It washed over him like a tidal wave, smothering all sense of reason and acceptance as he curled further inward and held onto his stomach, attempting—and failing—to suppress the mounting despair until, at last, he faded into a shock-induced state of grieving disassociation.
Time passed. Minutes. Hours. Days. Weeks. Months. Years.
Or perhaps it was mere moments. The passage of time itself became a separate and disconnected concept, and he simply let himself feel. Grief was all-consuming and ever-present, and for all that he had always considered himself strong enough—he broke in that moment, which itself became a frozen eternity. Nothing sought to rouse him, nothing sought to distract him from his pain, and he simply let it come… and drowned in it.
It felt like an age of the world that he lay there, lost in the oblivion of his own mind, and weeping until there was nothing left within him. He cried until all despair and denial and railing against his fate had vacated, and he remained little more than an exhausted husk.
Only when he had truly emptied himself of grief did he breathe again. A shaky breath.
Only after he felt the warm blanket of acceptance did he feel able to think again.
He stretched out slowly after that. His body shifted and moved until he lay quietly on the whiteness. He breathed softly, moment after moment, and steadied his still-racing heart.
In and out with a slow count to three each breath.
He felt himself relaxing, felt his muscles uncoiling and his tension bleeding away—and though some anxiety remained, it was… manageable. He let out a quiet sigh and turned to where the blue screen still hovered, lower now that he was on the ground, but still ever-present. Immutable. Undeterred.
“I always wanted to be an isekai protagonist, and the moment I am, I have a mental breakdown…” he said with a self-deprecating sigh. “Sounds about right. Well then…”
He pushed himself up and slowly rose to his feet, stretching his back and wiping away the last remnants of tears. It would likely not be the last time he cried, but perhaps it would be the last time he let it control him. His father had taught him better than to be a slave to his own grief.
Feel it. Understand it. Let it out… and move on, son. He had said warmly.
He nodded and took a deep, cleansing breath before reorienting his focus on the screen. “Right then. Welcome Nephilim yadda yadda… Soulforce ignition successful, that seems… good?” he read the rest of the words quickly. “Hm… and then type is… Transcendent? Well, that sounds proper OP. Nice.”
He had a feeling he was going to enjoy being part of this particular fantasy.
“Okay, let’s get with the character creation then. YOLO. Actualisation is a go!” He tapped the YES option glibly.
A moment of silence followed, and then another window populated.
Actualisation stage initiated. Please wait.
Preparing basic information…
Please enter your name.
________________ ________________
He raised an eyebrow and then let loose a quiet “Hmm…” of thought while peering at the two blank lines. A name? That was probably an important choice. He knew that it usually defined things going forward, and the many novels he’d read always had the protagonist’s name meaning something. “Well, I can’t exactly go with something simple… should be suitably powerful and dramatic sounding…” he frowned in thought and reached up to scratch his chin.
“Latin is always good. Maybe something Roman? I do like Rome…” he pondered further as he peered at the endless white around him without properly seeing it, and fidgeted idly all the while. “Aurelian was the GOAT, as far as I’m concerned. That’s absolutely a good one. But I do love StarCraft, and Arcturus is a badass name too… then there’s Augustus, who was, like, the gigachad to end all—”
He interrupted himself and brought both palms against his face in a double-facepalm, before speaking through them with a groan. “Holy shit I sound like a moron, and all these names start with A! Biased much?”
He rubbed his hands over his face and idly clapped his cheeks. “Come on man, think!”
Another few moments were spent in contemplation, after which he peered at the screen. “What if I wanted more than two names? Like middle names?” He reached out and carefully tapped the blue box. “Hey, uh, System? Can I have more than two names?”
A chime sounded and he jumped in surprise, but then the box flashed, and suddenly there were several more lines for his input.
He grinned.
Actualisation stage initiated. Please wait.
Preparing basic information…
Please enter your name.
________ ________ ________ ________
“Very cool.” he said approvingly. “Okay, let’s see… I’ll go with…” he reached out and tapped the first line, at which point his chosen option populated the first space immediately.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
“Okay, that’s awesome.”
Two more quick taps followed, and he reached up to rub his chin as he reviewed his choice. As he did, the box flashed again and his choices, along with a new option, populated the bottom. He also noticed the unused line was removed.
Actualisation stage initiated. Please wait.
Preparing basic information…
Please enter your name.
Aurelian Arcturus Augustus
Confirm selection?
YES
NO
He stared at the screen for almost a minute before growling under his breath.
“Triple A? Seriously? Fuck me I’m stupid.” He rubbed his forehead. “Not sure how I feel about thinking of myself as bad insurance, or a video game category. No thanks.”
He tapped the NO option quickly, and the screen reset once more.
“Okay, so! I’m definitely going to stick with Aurelian. Absolutely. Arcturus is… nah. Can also scrap Augustus. Sorry, Octavian.” He made a quick prayer formation with his hands and then looked back to the screen. A moment of blank staring passed, and then he snapped his fingers with realisation and grinned. “Nobody said it had to be proper Latin!”
He quickly input his selection, and then set the screen to populate again.
Actualisation stage initiated. Please wait.
Preparing basic information…
Please enter your name.
Aurelian Lucis Imperius
Confirm selection?
YES
NO
“Aurelian Lucis Imperius,” he sounded out slowly. “Yeah, now that sounds weighty. Gold, Light, Empire. Perfect,” he reached out and, before he could second-guess himself, stabbed the YES option. Immediately a gong sounded, and he felt an increase in density within himself he couldn’t quite explain. Like he was… more.
The name settled on him like a warm coat, and he knew instinctively he would never think of himself as Alex Crosswood again. The change was more than just aesthetic, it felt existential in a way that he somehow knew redefined the very fabric of his existence.
It was both strange and reassuring.
A moment later, another window appeared.
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
You have successfully chosen your name.
“Cool, now I can—” He stopped off when another window appeared after that.
Staring at it in confusion, he started reading and his eyes widened in surprise.
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
Hidden Conditions met!
You have chosen a unique name!
Achievement Earned: Cast Your Own Shadow!
For successfully having a name unique across the Realms, you have been awarded the following:
1 x Attribute Point
1 x Bronze Chest
1 x Unique Trait
You will begin your journey at Level 2!
“Well, that’s pretty cool,” he said with a whistle. “What’s next?”
As if in answer, yet another window appeared.
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
You have taken your first steps into the Realms.
Please select your [Race]. Options will be p̶̩̋͜ǫ̶̛̲̔̋̽̕p̴̢̧̢̭̆ú̴̩̰̟̮̻̆̐̚͠#̶̨̦̻̪͆̇̀͑̇̓$̵̢͖̹͕̾!̶̛̰̿̇̑͘͠!̵̬̻̪͍̊̃͛̚—̸̖̲̗̹̩̰͆͒ ̵̝͔͒̉̽̓̀̇ͅp̸̨̖̥͊́o̴̰̺̔̿͛̉͑@̵̙̣̘̫͓͈͂̎̃̈&̷̤̗͑%̷͎͖̀̈́̿̎p̷̫̍͛—̶̪̜̀̄
ERROR
PREDETERMINATION DETECTED
SYSTEM OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS
STANDBY
Aurelian stared in silence at the prompt and felt a little flutter of nerves. “That… doesn’t seem normal,” he said warily. These events rarely ended well from what he remembered, but sometimes… Sometimes they weren’t so bad.
Sometimes.
He only had moments to worry about it, however, until another prompt appeared.
OVERRIDE COMPLETE
RE-ENGAGING ASSIMILATION PROCESS
STANDBY
. . .
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
Through immense effort, your benefactor has granted you access to a legendary race!
You have been assigned the [Elysean] race!
Would you like to view the details of your race?
YES
NO
Aurelian staggered at the sudden feeling of physical realness that slammed into him. A hoarse scream tore from his throat as he felt muscles, tendons, bones, and his entire anatomy shifting and changing. He grew, his bones grew denser, his organs grew larger. He felt himself becoming more in a way he couldn’t properly quantify. It lasted for an eyeblink, or an eternity, and when it was done he felt almost whole again.
Aurelian blinked, swallowed, took a shaky breath and stared down at himself.
He immediately realised he was taller. He’d been above average most of his life at 5’10”, in the casually Americanised nomenclature, but now he was easily closer to 6’5”. His body also felt… tighter. It seemed more compact without sacrificing anything in terms of physical power. He still had a noticeable roundness to his gut, but now it felt more… solid.
His entire frame, in fact, felt more powerful.
He also realised, belatedly, that his hair had changed as well. Where before he’d had a kind of unremarkable, dirty blond-brunette mix; now instead his hair was the colour of platinum; a pale hue that, in many cases, might have been melodramatically described as ‘moonlight silver’. He ran his fingers through the strands hanging in front of his eyes in stunned disbelief, vaguely aware that his hair now fell almost to his shoulders. “Woah…”
His gaze lifted and he stared at the unmoving blue screen, hesitated for all of one more second, and then selected the YES option quickly.
Another box appeared almost as soon as the other vanished.
ELYSEAN
Legendary Race
Elyseans are an ancient race, whose origins are linked to the first Calamity. Elyseans were known for their incredible physical and arcane might, and their capacity for great innovation. Pureblooded Elysean are extinct, faded from time to be remembered only in ancient stories among their distant descendents, and by the ruins they left behind.
Racial Bonuses
Elyseans gain the following bonuses:
+ 3 Willpower per Level
+1 Charisma per Level
R̷̛̫̗̱͘͜!̵̲̞̪̓g̴̜̣̦͋̑ͅ4̷̱̝̉͆͝h̶̬̗͇̖͠&̷̨̧̈͊ͅ ̶̧͇͂͒́ͅo̷̱̞̠͐̓͊f̷͙̑̀̎̃ ̷̺̝͍̜͛̈̿D̸̨̺͌͗̈́o̴̙̺͈͋̈́͋m̸̼̤̓%̴̳͕̹̗́̀͝!̶̞̳͙̈́̈͝!̶͍̙̼̥̋͌̎͑
ERROR
PREDETERMINATION DETECTED
SYSTEM OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS
STANDBY
Aurelian read through the information with contemplative silence, nodding as he perused the details. An Ancient Race? That was pretty cool. His ‘benefactor’, whoever that was, had apparently ensured he had access to it. Nice of them, when he discounted the whole murder and kidnapping thing. The notion of being a precursor race seemed pretty awesome, given his experiences with such concepts in gaming and popular fiction.
The bonuses, though, seemed… less than ideal, given he definitely held a bias in favour of the more melee-oriented forms of combat in the various games he’d played.
“Games?” he muttered. “Get it together, dude, this isn’t a game…”
Dismissing the insanity of his new reality for a moment, he worked to focus instead on the prompt that appeared before his eyes, constituted by the System. Apparently, the esoteric force that controlled his new reality, or at least managed it—which seemed consistent with what he knew of portal fantasy, anyway—was having a rough day. He doubted the sheer number of errors was a good thing, and what basic knowledge he possessed of programming told him it was likely not something that was there by design.
Especially not when he considered the blatant and very obvious change in font and the bolding of each error message. The gamer and fantasy nerd in him was screaming ‘something isn’t right’ but, then again… he was living an isekai story.
‘Something isn’t right’ was probably going to become a regular occurrence for him.
OVERRIDE COMPLETE
RE-ENGAGING ASSIMILATION PROCESS
STANDBY
. . .
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
Hidden Conditions met!
You have been granted the unique title:
Elysean Reclaimer!
The bearer of this title is the chosen heir of the Elysean Empire. Summoned through time and space by its last rulers, they have been granted the right to take back what was stolen.
Beware! There are forces both great and small that will see this as a threat to their dominion. Be wary of whom you chose to trust, for power is a great motivation for betrayal, deception, and worse.
As a result of this, you gain the following:
+3 Attribute Points per Level
+1 Skill Point per Level
+10% XP Gain